It’s the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. We are honoring Vietnam Veterans and National Vietnam War Veterans Day.Living historians join us with a wide variety of uniforms, equipment, artifacts, and vehicles from the Vietnam era.
10:30am
The “Women” of Vietnam
During the US involvement in the Vietnam War, approximately 265,000 females severed as members of the military while performing a variety of integral and important roles. a variety of roles. At the time of the Vietnam war, women were forbidden to serve in combat however 11,000 women volunteered to serve their country both in and out of active combat zones. These young women, average age of 23, graduated nursing schools and headed off on an adventure that would shock them , reward them, and remain for them forever. Like their “brother warriors”, these women also experienced the negative shift in support of the war beginning after the infamous Tet Offensive of 1968.While the country was fiercely divided, the nurses pressed on to care for their “brothers of war” without wavering. These women returned home to a country who ignored them, spat at them and welcomed them home with harsh and inappropriate greeting across at bus stations, train stations and airports. Throughout their time in Vietnam, these women far exceed the expectations of them. They served with profound honor and compassion beyond the scope of imagination. They will forever be known and honored as The Women of Vietnam. Julie Decker, currently an assistant professor of nursing, at Mount Aloysius College, is an avid researcher and presenter on the storied history of the profession of nursing. Dr. Decker is a graduate of Carlow University and holds a Masters’ degree in nursing from Indiana University of PA, a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Mount Aloysius College and a diploma from the Altoona Hospital School of Nursing. During her summers off from teaching, Dr Decker is active in living history events encompassing the Civil War, World War and Vietnam eras as a participant as well as presenter.
12:30pm
“Soldiers Once and Young – Ia Drang Valley 1965 – The Real Story Beyond the Movie”
Colonel Tom Vossler (U.S. Army, Retired), former Director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, and member of the National Army ROTC Hall of Fame, and Gettysburg area resident, provides an informed discussion of the events. Tom was on the frontline of battlefields in Vietnam as an infantry Lieutenant and rifle platoon leader. He subsequently was second in command of a mechanized infantry company making the attacks across South Vietnam’s border into the Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.
1:30pm
This year we’re pleased to have Maj. Gen. Bill Matz (Ret.) join us for a presentation and signing of his new book, “My Toughest Battle: A Soldier’s Lifelong Struggle with Polio.” Bill Matz earned his Ranger Tab and Master Parachute Badge and rose to the highest levels of achievement in the U.S. Army. He served in the DMZ in Korea, led troops in combat in Vietnam, was wounded in the Tet Offensive, received the Distinguished Service Cross for Valor, and led troops again during the Panama invasion—all while wearing a specially fitted combat boot and a foot orthotic device on his atrophied “polio leg.” Later duties included serving as Executive Secretary to the Secretary of Defense during the Reagan years.
